Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was introduced in the 2015 film The Force Awakens, and is portrayed by Oscar Isaac. Poe is an pilot for the Resistance who inadvertently brings the renegade stormtrooper Finn and the Jakku scavenger Rey into battle against the First Order. The character is featured in The Force Awakens media and merchandising as well as an eponymous comic book series. He returns in the film's sequels The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, the animated series Star Wars Resistance and the television specials The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, Terrifying Tales and Summer Vacation. Isaac's performance and the character have received positive reviews, with Poe's characterization being compared to that of Han Solo in the original Star Wars film trilogy.
Creation
During development of The Force Awakens, the character that would become Poe Dameron was referred to as "John Doe" and was envisioned as a black man in his 30s or 40s. At various points he was imagined as a Jedi or a bounty hunter—possibly with a Wookiee sidekick—before being depicted as "a Republic military man." When Oscar Isaac was offered the role, Poe was supposed to die early in the film. J.J. Abrams, the director of The Force Awakens, later rewrote the script so that Poe appears in the entire film. Poe Dameron was named after Abrams's assistant Morgan Dameron.Casting and portrayal
The Force Awakens received praise for casting women and people of color, including the Guatemalan-born Oscar Isaac. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that "giving starring roles to a black man, a white woman and a Latino is... quietly history making". A television spot on Univision that featured Poe was targeted at Spanish-speaking viewers, and included an introduction by Isaac in Spanish. A promotional poster featuring Isaac as Poe was distributed prior to the release of The Force Awakens.Some of Poe's comedic lines in The Force Awakens were improvised by Isaac.
Characterization
In The Force Awakens, Poe is a skilled X-wing fighter pilot for the Resistance. The son of Rebel Alliance fighters, he is a commander in the Resistance's Starfighter Corps and "one of Leia Organa's most-trusted operatives" who is headstrong and "can fly anything". Isaac described Poe as "the best freaking pilot in the galaxy... He's been sent on a mission by a certain princess, and he ends up coming up acrossNatalie Zutter and Chris Lough of Tor.com wrote, "Poe is that rare creature who knows exactly what he wants to do with his life." Isaac said of the character in 2015, "Poe's the kind of guy you want in the trenches with you. He's straightforward, he's honest, he's incredibly loyal and he's got some swagger to him." Katy Waldman wrote for Slate, "This is Poe Dameron, star pilot, heartthrob, wiseass, ace leather jacket–bestower, Finn's OTP. When he grins up at
After filming The Last Jedi but before its release, Isaac said in 2017:
Appearances
Sequel trilogy
''The Force Awakens''
Poe is introduced in The Force Awakens, the first film of the sequel trilogy. He is an X-wing fighter pilot and a member of the Resistance. He is sent by General Leia Organa to the planet Jakku to retrieve part of a map that shows the location of her brother, Luke Skywalker. When the First Order arrives on Jakku, Poe hides the map in the droid BB-8 and sends him into the desert. Poe is captured and tortured by Kylo Ren, who is searching for the map. A renegade stormtrooper liberates Poe, and they flee the First Order in a TIE fighter. During their flight, Poe gives the stormtrooper the name Finn. Their ship is hit with missiles, and crashes on Jakku. Finn is ejected from the ship and presumes that Poe is dead when the destroyed craft sinks into the sand. Poe later reappears leading an X-wing squadron in an assault on the First Order. Near the end of the film, he leads an attack on Starkiller Base, personally firing the shots that cause the superweapon to explode. The novelization of The Force Awakens explains that Poe was thrown from the TIE fighter over Jakku and survived. After encountering the Blarina scavenger Naka, he helped him escape from a group of pirates. Naka then helped Poe get to Blowback Town.File:Star Wars Launch Bay Poe Dameron's Helmet.jpg|thumb|upright|Poe's helmet on display at Star Wars Launch Bay at Disney's Hollywood Studios.''The Last Jedi''
The Last Jedi begins shortly after the destruction of Starkiller Base. As the First Order closes in on the Resistance headquarters, Poe leads a counterattack to give the Resistance time to evacuate. Once the transports are away, Leia orders Poe to pull back, but he insists that they seize the opportunity to destroy the First Order Dreadnought. His team of bombers succeed in taking out the ship, but all the crews are killed. Leia demotes Poe to Captain for recklessness and disobeying orders. Using a tracking device, the First Order pursues the Resistance through hyperspace and mounts another attack, which claims the lives of most of the Resistance leadership and renders Leia unconscious. Poe assumes he will be named acting general, but Leia instead promotes Vice Admiral Holdo, who dismisses Poe's suggestions due to his earlier reckless actions.Poe concocts a plan with Finn and the mechanic Rose Tico to disable the tracking device, but keeps the operation a secret from Holdo. When he discovers that Holdo plans to abandon a vulnerable ship, Poe stages a mutiny. Finn and Rose fail to disable the tracker, and an awakened Leia stops Poe's uprising and resumes command. Despite his disobedience, both Leia and Holdo express admiration for Poe's daring. The Resistance forces then arrive on the planet Crait, where Poe leads an unsuccessful offensive against the First Order. While Luke distracts Ren, Poe leads the remaining members of the Resistance in an escape through an uncharted passage.
In The Last Jedi, Poe was originally going to accompany Finn on his mission to Canto Bight. The film's director, Rian Johnson, realized the dialogue of the two characters was interchangeable, which resulted in what he called a "flat" storyline. He created the character Rose to challenge and contrast with Finn, and made her his companion instead.
''The Rise of Skywalker''
The Rise of Skywalker is set one year after the previous film. Poe, Finn and Chewbacca retrieve information from a First Order mole, then travel to Passanna with Rey and C-3PO. There, they locate a Sith dagger which they hope will help them find the planet Exegol and the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, who is the mastermind behind the First Order and has built the Sith Eternal's fleet of Sith Star Destroyers, the Final Order. After Chewbacca's apparent death, they land on Kijimi and meet with Poe's contact Zorii Bliss. She reveals that Poe was a spice smuggler who abandoned his friends and crew when he decided to fly for the Resistance. She still harbors resentment towards him and is on the verge of killing him, but decides to help after Rey defeats her in combat. Zorii takes the group to the droid-smith Babu Frik, who hacks into C-3PO's memory and extracts a translation of the dagger's inscriptions, which provides instructions for locating a Sith wayfinder. Meanwhile, Zorii invites Poe to join her as she travels the galaxy. He considers her offer, but Zorii ultimately urges him to finish what the Resistance has started. She helps him board a First Order Star Destroyer to rescue Chewbacca, who is still alive.While aboard Ren's Destroyer, Poe and Finn are captured and set to be executed along with Chewbacca. They are saved by General Hux, who reveals that he is the mole; he is aiding the Resistance to undermine Ren. After a series of adventures, Rey departs for Exegol using a wayfinder from Ren's TIE fighter, while Poe and the others return to the Resistance base, where they find that Leia has died. Poe has been named acting general, but struggles with the responsibility. He receives guidance from Lando Calrissian, who encourages him to rely on his friends. Poe subsequently makes Finn his co-general and leads a major strike against the Sith Eternal forces on Exegol. Despite initial success, Poe loses hope when the Resistance seems to be massively outnumbered. However, Lando soon arrives with a fleet of fighter craft from across the galaxy. With the help of this fleet, as well as the deaths of Ren and Palpatine, the Resistance is able to secure victory. Back at the Resistance base, Poe reunites with Zorii, Finn and Rey during a triumphant and emotional celebration.